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Chapter 313 - The Great Expedition (15)

It was a massive explosion.

The two lights overlapping one another were the very embodiment of destruction, but Hoosler, watching from afar, felt an odd warmth from the aftermath.

‘He sure is amazing in many ways.’

Hoosler’s method for a normal human to successfully hurt an apostle required burning one’s own life force and using that energy to fuel an attack.

This was a type of black magic curse practiced by Warlocks, but it was originally warrior magic that allowed warriors to burn their life force in a short period of time to maximize the power of their attacks.

However, Hoosler, being an outstanding Warlock, had managed to use the warrior magic to help Von release his fury and get his revenge.

Von’s red Aura blade had literally been a soul attack fueled by his own life force.

After the warm glow faded, Hoosler could see that Narva had been burnt to nothing, not even ashes left behind.

- Well, it’s a shame that I can’t eat anything with this body, but it sure does have one hell of a lot of power.

In front of them was a pair of sword marks criss crossing each other as though a beast had clawed away at the ground. It was the mark of destruction.

However, shortly after Hector’s comments...

Thud!

“Sir Von!”

Von collapsed, having put his everything into that final attack, both his soul and his body.

Hoosler instantly ran up to Von, and Hector followed close behind.

“What’s going on?” asked Hector. “Hey, don’t tell me this is how you’re gonna kick the bucket!”

Hector was unaware that Von had sacrificed his own life force for that final attack, so he didn’t know that this wasn’t the time for such jokes.

Gasping for air, Von slowly raised his hand...

...And gave Hector the middle finger.

“Haha, I knew it!” exclaimed Hector, laughing at Von’s reaction.

Von’s sassy response to Hector’s joke was a clear sign that he was going to be around for plenty of decades to come.

***

- Kheee!

The cry resembled that of a beast, but it didn’t actually come from a beast. Rather, it came from the thousands of blind believers rushing to devour Logger, Ananda, and Irenae.

The three of them looked like some poor adventurers that had mistakenly wandered into the deepest layers of hell. However, this wasn’t hell, but a vast plain in the northern parts of the continent.

The trio from the Church of Peace had desperately cast a small Protection Holy Code, the barrier barely large enough to shield a few people, and they were struggling inside it.

“Damn it...!”

Logger and Ananda couldn’t help but curse, which was rare for them to do. They had to protect the Saint, and yet they couldn’t bring themselves to attack, even in the face of thousands of enemies rushing in to rip them apart.

Their hesitation stemmed from what Palo had told them before disappearing.

“Oh, and by the way, all these blind believers were once faithful followers of the Church of Peace.”

Palo was gone, and yet his words were still ringing in their ears.

What a terrible situation they had found themselves in...

‘If only he hadn’t said that at the end, we could’ve slaughtered those blind believers in front of us without feeling the slightest bit of guilt...’

“Hang in there! Just a little longer! If we hold on for a bit longer, the Sages will come to our rescue!”

When the blind believers first appeared, Logger and Ananda raised their arms to protect Saint Irenae. However, the Saint stopped them after hearing what Palo had said.

Although they were wicked beings, these people had once been devout followers of the Church of Peace. Thus, the Saint judged that she and her two guardians couldn’t hurt them because they had been forcefully turned into Arthus’ blind believers.

Of course, her judgment wasn’t based on the childish ideals she had once had as an immature Saint. She knew better than anyone else how things were.

But even in this situation, even though her own life and the lives of her loyal guardians were threatened, she felt that a worthy leader of the Church of Peace shouldn’t be so quick to cut corners for her own benefit, like the Pope had done.

Therefore, even in the midst of this crisis, she tried to muster all her faith for Goddess Irene and come up with a solution that didn’t involve shedding blood.

And she concluded that the best thing to do was to have faith that the Sages would find them with the Log Stones and rescue them.

- Khaaa!

- Kuaaa!

In order to preserve their divine power, they had made the Protection Holy Code as small as they could and strengthened the barrier itself.

Normally, they wouldn’t have been able to defend themselves against physical attacks like this, but the Protection Holy Code was effective against the blind believers because they had been corrupted by Arthus.

Realizing that, the trio had combined their divine powers to create a Protection Holy Code that would hopefully buy them enough time until help arrived.

‘Goddess Irene... Please take pity on us and help us overcome this trial.’

Ananda was sitting in a lotus position in the center of the barrier and was sweating as though it was raining on him.

They had been defending themselves like this for several minutes already, constantly pouring divine power into the barrier, and they were almost at their limits.

No matter that Irenae was a rare Saint chosen by Goddess Irene herself, and no matter that Logger and Ananda were among the strongest holy warriors out there, they couldn’t fend off the thousands of rabid blind believers for much longer.

Crack-!

‘...!’

Amidst the cries of the blind believers that filled the air, Irenae distinctly heard the barrier cracking somewhere.

The Saint clasped her hands even tighter and continued to pray desperately. The only thing she could do at that moment was to strengthen the Protection Holy Code through her earnest prayer to Irene.

However, no matter how strong her faith was, its limits were becoming painfully obvious as time went on.

Crack!

Another crack, larger than the previous one, formed on the part of the barrier that was the farthest away from them, where their divine power had the least effect.

This time, Logger and Ananda clearly heard the crack as well, not just Irenae. Their faces turned grim as they realized that the Protection Holy Code had truly reached its limits.

Following the crack, there was a stifling silence despite the screeching of the blind believers.

Ananda eventually broke the silence.

“Logger.”

Logger’s eyes started quivering when Ananda quietly called out to him, an ominous feeling overcoming him.

“Ananda, you’re not about to...!”

“Stop.”

Having read Ananda’s mind, Logger spoke first in an urgent voice, trying to stop him from what he was about to do, but Ananda cut him off.

It seemed that Ananda had already made up his mind, and his comrade knew well what he was thinking of doing.

Having made up his mind, Ananda relaxed his sullen expression and smiled. It was the kind of smile he would wear whenever he patted young monks on the head.

“Logger, take care of Saint Irenae for me,” said Ananda.

“...”

Ananda was not only the greatest monk in the Church of Peace, but also the strongest shield that had ever fought for and defended the Saint.

At this moment, the future leader of the Church of Peace was in danger, so Ananda was forced to make a desperate decision to fulfill his calling.

“Sniff... Sniff...”

Saint Irenae had her eyes closed and hands clasped together. She couldn’t afford to move at all in order to maintain the Protection Holy Code. However, tears ran down her cheeks as she heard Ananda’s farewell.

Ananda comforted her.

“Don’t cry, Saint. I am doing what I have to do. I am fulfilling my duty to you and to the Church!”

“But... But...! Whaaa...!”

“Please help the Archmage defeat Arthus and restore peace to the continent.”

Following his parting words, Ananda released the lotus position, slowly opening his eyes and gazing at the blind believers pounding and scratching at the barrier.

- Khaaa!

The blind believers hit the barrier ferociously, not caring that they were breaking off their nails and fingers. They looked like evil spirits from hell, making for a horrifying sight.

However, Ananda looked at them with pity. He stood up, faced them, and clasped his hands to pray.

“Goddess, please do not hate them, but pity them.”

Ananda felt no hatred toward the blind believers before him because they were just poor people who had been sacrificed by Arthus. In his last moments, he would honor the Saint’s wishes and not harm them in the slightest.

Ananda quietly continued, “Goddess, please save us all so that our faith may not break down.”

Whoosh!

As Ananda finished his prayer, a pure white light enveloped him akin to a clean stream of water, creating an almost invisible shield around him.

Finally, the preparations were complete.

Having made peace with his decision, Ananda turned his back against Logger and Irenae, who were still praying, and slowly walked out of the barrier.

- Khaaaa!

As he stepped out of the barrier, the blind believer closest to him jumped at him with his mouth wide open.

Clank!

However, the blind believer flew far away like an arrow after bouncing off a shield.

Having left the barrier, Ananda clasped his hands, closed his eyes, and slowly walked forward.

- Khaa!

- Khaoo!

The prey that the blind believers had craved so much had finally stepped out of that impenetrable barrier. This was a great opportunity, so they all stopped pounding on the barrier and shifted their attention to Ananda.

- Khaaa!

- Khaooo!

However, just like the first one, all the blind believers who rushed at Ananda were blown far away as though a vicious wind had struck them.

Of course, just because they were blown away didn’t mean that their ravenous hunger had disappeared.

- Khaaaa!

Ananda still had his eyes closed. With his hands tightly clasped, he slowly, very slowly, moved away from the barrier and from Logger and Irenae, leaving golden footprints behind.

The footprints looked like the holy marks of a god, but Irenae and Logger couldn’t see them. They were still praying with their eyes closed, and while Ananda drew the attention away from them, they had to quickly restore what little divine power they had left.

But even so, Irenae could clearly feel Ananda, the greatest shield of the Church of Peace and someone who had served as her guardian for many years, drifting far away from her.

As the number of blind believers pounding on the barrier diminished, Irenae also felt Irene’s energy from Ananda grow fainter.

“Sniff... Sniff...!”

Irenae couldn’t suppress her tears. She felt sorry and terribly guilty as she felt Ananda’s life force fade away, like a drop of ink spreading in water.

Just when Ananda’s life force was completely gone, like a candle blown out in the wind...

“Haha, one is already down, just like that!”

That vile sneer from that despicable creature echoed in Irenae’s and Logger’s ears like a nightmare.